Search form

You are here

Through a shared vision, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin and UT System, and the Department of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin have partnered to create a computing powerhouse for the Southwest at The University of Texas at Austin.

The successful completion of the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall is on track for December 2012 when UTCS will move into a state-of-the-art building in the heart of campus. The culmination of the vision for an innovative computer science building on the University of Texas at Austin campus marks a pivotal point for The Department of Computer Science (UTCS) as well as for the regional technology ecosystem. Not only will the continuity and collaboration of UTCS be improved by being housed together for the first time in department history, but the value of this computing center to the regional economy will continue to increase. Our capacity will almost double, our collaborative and interdisciplinary research will flourish, our programs will have even greater impact, and our talent pool will support a thriving economy.

UTCS produces 20% of computer science graduates in Texas. Two-thirds of the department's graduates stay in Texas, and each graduate has an annual economic impact of $1.3 million and creates 5.7 permanent jobs. Ray Perryman, noted Texas economist, estimates that the department's overall contribution to the growth of the Texas high-tech economy is $8.7 billion annually and that the department's economic impact will increase 25% to approximately $11 billion annually due to the program growth enabled by the new computer science complex. While the Gates Computer Science Complex cost around $120 million to build, the estimated economic impact makes it a real value.

To adequately leverage the impact of Gates Complex, additional ongoing support is needed to ensure that Texas maintains a national top-ten ranked computer science department that fuels the digital economy. Endowment and naming opportunities offer a way to "live" with the department in the Gates Complex and to have a significant impact in establishing Texas as a computing powerhouse in the Southwest.